


Wishing on Stars

by waitingondaisies



Series: Worth Living For [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Harry Potter Needs a Hug, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:15:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25109848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waitingondaisies/pseuds/waitingondaisies
Summary: Harry goes off to be alone on New Year's Eve, Sirius isn't about to let him wallow without company. Together, they spot a shooting star.
Relationships: Sirius Black & Harry Potter
Series: Worth Living For [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1818613
Comments: 4
Kudos: 84





	Wishing on Stars

**Author's Note:**

> written for an ask meme on my tumblr and ended up becoming a bit of a prequel for another of my works! kelsey, this is for you! 
> 
> **prompt:** "What did you wish for?" with Sirius and Harry? Some nice godfather and godson bonding? 🥺👌

Harry glanced around at all the people celebrating and took a step back, away from the revelry. It was New Year’s Eve, and they had received news that Mr Weasley was recovering well. To celebrate, Mrs Weasley had decided to throw a New Year’s Eve party for her family and for any other members of the Order who had the time to drop by.

It turned out that there were a lot of people who had time in their schedule to drop by, so Grimmauld Place was raucous with the noise of celebrating people.

And yet Harry felt disconnected from all of it.

It was his fault that Mr Weasley wasn’t here to celebrate with them. If it weren’t for Harry, Mr Weasley— and the rest of the Weasleys— would be celebrating the holidays at the Burrow. Though Grimmauld Place had been much nicer lately thanks to Sirius’s joy at having the house full, the Burrow was where the Weasleys belonged.

Harry scrubbed his hand through his already messy hair and sighed. At least that was one benefit to this whole mess— Sirius was having a much better holiday than he probably would have otherwise. Harry’s relief at this thought did little to dislodge his guilt at the rest of the situation, though.

With another look around at all the people celebrating, at Ginny bent over a prank with the twins, at Ron and Hermione bickering again, at Sirius deep in conversation with Tonks, Harry decided to step out.

He didn’t fit in with all these people, but he didn’t want to make anyone worry about him. As quietly as he could, and with years of experience at not being noticed, Harry slipped out of the parlor. He moved through the house and out onto the back doorstep, shivering from the cold as soon as he set foot outside.

With a quick wave of his wand and a muttered incantation, Harry cast a warming spell on his immediate environment. It wouldn’t last for long, but Harry could always cast it again if he needed to.

Harry sighed and watched the condensation from his breath disperse into the frigid air. He would have to go back inside eventually, but for now he would sit and allow himself to wallow in his guilt.

Not long after Harry had sat down, he heard the beginnings of the countdown to midnight begin in the parlor.

Under his breath, Harry joined in with them, a hope that the new year would go better than the last building deep inside him.

So focused was he on the countdown— and his hopes for the future— that Harry didn’t notice the backdoor open. He continued his countdown, and when he reached one, he whispered ‘Happy New Year,’ to himself.

“Happy New Year,” Sirius replied, making Harry jump.

“Sirius!” Harry exclaimed, twisting around to look at his godfather. “Where did you come from?”

Sirius sat down on the doorstep and slung an arm around Harry’s shoulder. “Like most people, I came through the door,” Sirius said. “Though, I suppose I could have Apparated here, like the twins derive great pleasure from doing,” he added thoughtfully.

Harry leaned into Sirius’s warm embrace. “You know what I meant,” Harry said, exasperated.

“I came out during the countdown as soon as I noticed you’d left.”

Harry nodded, feeling a twinge of disappointment that he hadn’t been able to slip out unnoticed as he’d intended to.

“So, did you make a New Year's resolution?” Sirius asked.

Harry shrugged as best as he could under the weight of Sirius’s arm. “Not unless you count surviving the year to be a resolution.”

Sirius squeezed Harry in tighter. “With how your life tends to go, I think that’s a perfectly acceptable resolution. And I intend to do everything I can to help you achieve that.”

Harry cracked a small smile, allowing Sirius’s words to wash over him. “What’s your resolution?” Harry asked.

Sirius sighed and scrubbed his hand up and down Harry’s arm several times. “I resolved to be the godfather that I failed to be for 12 years.”

Harry pulled out of Sirius’s embrace and twisted around to face him. “That wasn’t your fault!” Harry exclaimed.

Sirius shook his head. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. “It’s awfully cold out here,” he said, pulling his wand. Then he cast a Warming Charm, followed by a Sealing Charm to make the first last longer.

“I’m serious,” Harry snapped, furious to think that Sirius was still blaming himself for something that wasn’t his fault.

“Funnily enough, I am too,” Sirius said, grinning. Then he sobered and added, “Look, whatever the reason, I have 12 years of not being there for you to make up for. I plan to do my absolute utmost to make it up to you this year and there’s nothing you can do to stop me. So, get ready to accept incessant godfathering from me for the foreseeable future.”

Harry glared and crossed his arms.

“Harry, look!” Sirius exclaimed suddenly, throwing his arm out to point at the sky.

Harry whirled around and saw a shooting star fall across the night sky.

“Make a wish, Harry,” Sirius said softly.

Harry paused, his mind racing with the possibilities. There were so many things he could wish for— so many things he wanted. For Voldemort to be dead, for his friends to be safe, for a school year without a near death experience. For a family.

For a moment, Harry looked away from the shooting star to glance at Sirius out of the corner of his eye. Sirius wasn’t looking at the star at all. Sirius was watching him instead.

Harry tore his gaze away and fixed it back on the shooting star. His thoughts were still racing as he remembered what Sirius’s resolution was. Sirius had done the best he could, he didn’t deserve to blame himself for the past.

As the shooting star began to fade from view, Harry squeezed his eyes shut and made his wish.

Turning around to look at the shooting star had brought him back within the radius of Sirius’s arm length, which Sirius quickly took advantage of by slinging his arm around Harry’s shoulder again.

Harry tossed one last perfunctory glare at Sirius, to tell Sirius that he hadn’t forgotten his irritation, then leaned into the embrace.

“So, Harry, what did you wish for?” Sirius asked.

Harry smiled.

**Author's Note:**

> this is so much worse if you think about what happens next in canon, so i decided to make it part of my own fic's canon to make things a touch less painful :D
> 
> thank you for reading and don't forget to comment and check out my blog! [waitingondaisies](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/waitingondaisies)!


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